Pressing machine



Mzmh 3%, ma F. J. COUCH PRESSING MACHINE Filed Feb. 15, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IINVENTOR Fonwssr J. C0ucH BY kw m uvx ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 19, 1946 PRESSING MACmE V Forrest J. Comb, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to Y 1 The American Laundry Machinery Norwood, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Company,

Application February 15, 1944, Serial Nb. 522,455 3 Claims. (01. 38 -36) This invention relates to pressing machines such as are used for pressing and drying garments and other cleaned or laundered articles.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved press of table type, i. e., in which all the working and operating parts are above a level approximating that of an ordinary work table, and in which by manually operatable parts the press may be closed easily and quickly, heavy pressure may be applied, and the parts may be releasably looked, all by a single actuation of the same general operating mechanism.

A further object is to simplify and improve the operating mechanism, so that itnot only is strong, durable and not likely to get out of order, but also to reduce its weight and cost, without sacrifice of efficiency.

Still another object is to provide improved operating mechanism for a press of this kind, which employs the double toggle principle, one toggle working on another, with very considerable multiplication of power effect and the production of heavy pressure with minimum operator effort.

Further objects of the invention in part are obvious and in part will appear more in detail hereinafter. I

In the drawings, which represent one suitable embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, showing the press open;

Fig. 2 is a similar view, showing the press closed and looked under heavy pressure;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation on the line 4-4," Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

The press illustrated in the drawings comprises a suitable frame, marked generally H3, in which are mounted, for relative movement, cooperating upper and lower pressing members in the form of a head II and a bed l2, the frame also supporting the operating mechanism for said members.

The frame is designed to be either supported upon any suitable ordinary table or other support, or upon its own legs. For that reason the frame consists of a base formed of longitudinal members l3 and transverse members Id, of structural steel and of suitable cross section, such as angle irons, firmly and. rigidly secured to each other to provide a flat bottom [5, which may rest upon the table or other support. Attached to the top of the base are sheet metal or other plates Hi to provide the usual work table surface surrounding the bed and on which the garments to be pressed may be laid.

The frame also includes an upright pillar consisting of two opposite plates ll,-rising from the rear of the base and welded or otherwise secured to it at their lower ends, said plates being connected at their upper ends by a cross head [8 of curved plate form and having a transversely extending front edge .89 and underneath it an operating surface 25. Intermediate the upper and lower ends of this pillar its side plate members are provided with bearing bosses 2! to receive a cross shaft 22, whichr'otates in said bosses.

-The head'll is mounted upon. a lever, marked generally 25. Said lever consists of two parallel opposed and like open triangular members 26, forming one of its arms. At the front of the press the members 25 are connected by a plate 21, on which the movable head is supported. At another angle of the triangle said members 26, are connected by a cross shaft 28, while at the third angle the members of the lever are pivotally mounted upon the shaft 22, beyond which they areprovided with extensions 29, connected by cross pin 36 and forming a second lever arm. To the pin 39 areconnected the ends of retracting springs 31, extending horizontally between the base members l3 and attached at their front ends to adjusting screws 32 extending through an opening in the transverse base members M, where the heads 33 are accessible on the outside of the base for adjustment of the spring tension. These springs always tend to open the press.

The pressis operated by a hand lever 35, of any suitable form, butshown as made of a piece of pipe bent to U-form with the ends of its arms provided with clamping blocks 36 by which they maybe clamped and thus securely fastened to the outer ends of the shaft 22.

Between the side plate members !1 of the pillar,

ing blocks 31 on one of a pair of toggle members,

and more particularly an arm or lever 38, pivotally connected at 39 to two links 40 which together form the other toggle member. The outer ends of said links are pivotally connected at M to one arm 42 of a bell crank lever pivoted on the shaft 28, and the other arm 33 of which is bifurcated and carries a pin i l on which is mounted a roller 55. The members of the bifurcated arm43 are provided on their rear edges with shoulders 46.

The work supporting member of thebed l2, of course, is supported upon a short pillar 47 rigidly mounted upon the base In and either or both of the head and bed members I I, I2, is provided with means for circulating steam or other heating medium through the chambers or cavities of said members, such as by way of the pipes 48 connected to the head and 49 to the bed respectively.

In the arrangement shown, with the press open, as in Fig. 1, the head and its supporting and operating parts are held in the positions shown by the tension of the retracting springs 3|. Assuming work to be pressed has been laid or arranged on the work support or bed 12 the operator applies his hand to the operatinglever 35, now extending upwardly, and pulls down on the same. under surface 20 of the cross head H3. The force applied to lever 35 turns saidlever and the shaft 22 clockwise in Fig. 1. Roller 45 travels along the surface 20, with the toggle links 38, 40 and the lever 42, 43 remaining in their relative positions shown in Fig. 1 until the roller 45 reaches the front edge IQ ofthe cross head [8. Thereupon said roller can rise relative to plate l8. When the roller reaches this position the head is in contact with the garment or other article lying on the bed l2. Therefore, the closing movement of the movable head is produced by direct operator efiort applied through the handle 35 to the shaft 22 and thence through lever 25 to the, head, so that all these parts move together as a unit, with no relative motion. Closure of the press is therefore accomplished very easily and rapidly, with maximum motion at minimum expense of operator effort.

As soon as the press has been closed so that the head is in contact with the bed and the roller 45 has reached the inclinededge IQ of the cross head it, the lever mechanism begins to take effect with a power multiplying action. Roller 45 travels upwardly and the shoulders 48 engage and move up along the inclined surface [9. The'bell crank lever consisting of arms 42, 43, turns counterclockwise about the shaft 28, and the tog gle, consisting of links 38, 40,-straightensv Indeed, lever arm 43 and the rear portion of the lever 25'together form a second toggle, sothat the operators effort is now transmitted from lever 35 to the head through two sets of toggles; one working on the other, with a double toggle multiplying effect, thus applying the head to the bed with unusually heavy pressure for the operator's effort expended.

In the finalpositionof the parts, Withthe press closed under heavy pressure, the shaft 39-, forming the knuckle of the first toggle, has moved slightly beyond dead center, so the toggles and the parts connected to them become locked in the full pressure position. That position, and the pressure applied to the work in thatposition, may be predetermined by adjustment of the head with reference to its supporting lever '25, since the head is adjustably mounted upon the lever to be self-accommodating to the bed. As shown in Fig. 3 the head is provided with a horizontal transversely extending plate 50, parallel to and below plate 21, and to which are attached two studs extending upwardly through holes in plate 21, and said plate is provided with a compression spring 52, the tension of which may be adjusted by nuts 53. ,In a threaded portion of a cross web 54 of lever 25 is mounted an adjustingscrew 55 with quick pitch threadsand provided with an operating handlett. By turning said handlez h ghead may be adjusted up or down with respect to lever Roller 45 is in engagement with the of which travels along a part of the pillar 25 while the stud and spring mounting of plate 50 with respect to plate 21 provides a certain degree of self-accommodation of the head to the work and work supporting bed in the final closed full pressure position.

When pressure has been applied to the work for a sufficient period of time the press is opened by lifting up on the lever 35, which, moves the toggle knuckle 33 back across dead center to a position where the springs 3! become effective to return the parts to their original positions. Retracting motion of the toggle link 38 is limited by its engagement with an adjustable stop screw 60 threaded into a cross web 6| of lever 25.

The press described is of ver simple construction, involving but a few parts with all pivoted connections exposed and available for lubrication or adjustment. The operating mechanism is simple and provides quick and easy press closing motion and the production of heavy pressure with a. power multiplying effect and the expenditure of minimum effort. The press as a whole can be readily transported from place to place and set up quickly for operation on any table or other support.

WhatI claim is:

l. A pressing machine, comprising a frame including a base adapted to rest upon a support and having an upright pillar at one end and a work supporting bed at the other end, a horizontal shaft mounted to turn in said pillar. and having an operating handle and an operating arm fixed thereto, a lever mounted to turn upon said shaft and carrying a pressing head for cooperation with said bed, a two-armed lever .pivctall'y mounted on a horizontal axis in said. head carrying lever, abutment track means mounted on the pillar and along which travels one arm of said two-armed lever, and a link connecting, said operating arm and. the second arm of said twoarmed lever, said operating arm and thelink connected thereto being relatively immovable while the first arm of said two-armed lever travels along the track means during press closing movement but cooperating as a toggle in the application of heavy pressure after said first arm reaches the end of the track means, and the knuckle of said toggle moving beyond dead center to a self-locked position in the final closed full pressure position of the head. v,

2. A pressing machine, comprising a frame including a base adapted to rest upon a support and provided with an upright pillar at one endand with a work supporting bed at the other end, a lever pivotally mountedupon a horizontal axis in said pillar and supporting: apressing head for cooperation with said bed, an operating handle pivotally mounted in said illar on the same axis as the head carrying lever, a bell crank lever pivotally mounted upon a horizontal axis in said head carrying lever and having an'opcrating first arm and a second arm the free-end which serves as a changing fulcrum for said second arm, and linked operating connections between said handle and operating arm and efiective asa toggle to apply heavy pressure onlywhen the head has been lowered into contact with the bed. 3. A pressing machine, comprising a framein cluding abase adapted to rest upon; a supp rt and provided at one end with an upright. pillar and at the other end with a work supporting bed, a lever pivoted upon. a horizontal axis in'sai'd pillar and earrying apressing head for cooperation with said bed, a power'leverpivotally'inounted upon a horizontal axis in said head carrying lever and movable therewith, said power lever having first and second arms located on opposite sides of its pivot, abutment track means on the pillar along which the free end of said second arm travels to compel said two levers to move together without relative movement between them during the head closing operation, two interconnected toggle link members which lie in togglebroken relation when the press is open, one thereof being pivotally connected to the first arm of said power lever and the other thereof being pivoted on a horizontal axis in the pillar, and a hand lever operatively connected to the last named toggle link and tending when actuated to straighten the toggle, said abutment track means terminating at approximately the point thereon reached by said first arm when the head contacts the bed, whereby upon actuation of said hand lever with the press open said three levers and the toggle links and the head move together, as a unit, without relative motion, until the head reaches contact with the bed and the first arm of the power lever reaches the end of the abutment track means, after which further advance of the hand lever first straightens the toggle links to apply heavy pressure and then moves the toggle knuckle beyond center to a releasable locked position.

FORREST J. COUCH. 

